Elections B.C. asked to look into potential for online voting
The B.C. government says it wants to explore the potential for allowing voters to cast ballots online during elections in the province.
Elections B.C. has been asked to convene an independent panel to look into the issue of Internet voting, according to a news release from the province today (August 9).
The independent panel would be appointed to examine how other jurisdictions handle online voting in local and provincial elections and focus on any technological or logistical problems.
"Our province is widely recognized as being technologically progressive and a leader in open government initiatives,” Minister of Justice and Attorney General Shirley Bond said in the release.
“If the independent panel determines we can maintain the utmost electoral integrity, I'm optimistic Internet voting could increase accessibility for British Columbians to participate in the democratic process,” Bond said.
Bond officially requested Elections B.C. look into the matter in a letter to chief electoral officer Keith Archer.
The idea of adopting online voting has already received support from the City of Vancouver and other municipalities in the province.
However, the B.C. government last year rejected a proposal to allow an online-voting pilot project during the 2011 civic election in Vancouver.
At the time, the province expressed support for the idea but cited the need for a significant amount of legislative change.
Supporters of online voting argue the practice has the potential to increase accessibility and boost voter turnout.
However, critics claim it is vulnerable to problems like hacking and difficulty verifying the identity of voters.
The news release from the province did not include any details about when the independent panel’s report might be completed.
Comments
11 Comments
jonny .
Aug 9, 2012 at 11:10am
NO TO ONLINE VOTING!
it is way too easy for someone to tamper with the votes.
the only way i could ever see computerized voting being "safe" is if each vote is assigned a number, and a little paper is printed off with the number for the voter to take home, so they could look up their vote on the internet. All votes would have to be posted, and people could check to make sure their vote is accurate. Even doing this tho, someone could easily add lots of extra fake votes to skew the results.
HellSlayerAndy
Aug 9, 2012 at 12:03pm
WHY?
Our elections consist of a list of names and ONE check mark!!!
A group of volunteers and scrutineers cut the seal on the boxes, they then count them, enter the data on a official sheet, call or bring the numbers to designated election officer of a constituency who then aggregates them while regularly updating each individual 'poll' until all the votes are counted and reported.
It's completely accountable at every step and can be back traced for potential abuses with little effort.
ANY politician that is proposing 'digitizing' this 19th century system of voting is actually proposing
1) an unnecessary expense simply for personal gain and
2) making FRAUD all the more possible so as it is much easier to rig an election because so many NEW layers have been added between simple relationship of pencil and paper.
The idea that somehow poor turnout is a result of inconvenience is pure fiction and a way for politicians running for office to avoid the much larger concerns which are many and entirely the result of actions of politicians and their political parties over the past few decades.
...and ONE of the concerns lately are politicians proposing online voting. All bad, no good...so why are they proposing it?
Kim Poirier
Aug 9, 2012 at 12:26pm
No to online voting. Look at the DOS attack on the Federal NDP leadership vote. It's too easy to hack. I suspect the Fiberals are looking for an easy way to rig the next election. Now is NOT the time to start experimenting with Elections, or trusting BCLiberal decisions!
slantendicular
Aug 9, 2012 at 12:26pm
I thought the disaster that was the online NDP leadership race would have put the kibosh on online voting proposals. Such a high profile target that is only available for a few hours is highly susceptible to Denial of Service (DOS) attacks.
Dee Tee
Aug 9, 2012 at 1:09pm
NO TO ONLINE VOTING.
Voting is ALREADY twisted enough. If we make it any easier for people to cheat, we will NEVER have fair and honest elections.
People need to GET OFF THEIR BEHINDS and go and vote.
Be a decent citizen!
West
Aug 9, 2012 at 1:14pm
Paper slip voting has already proven to be unreliable to say the least (remember George W?.... TWICE??!?). And honestly, if you are willing to trust the net enough with your life savings why not a vote as well?
The most important thing to consider is the accessibility, EVERYONE would vote if they didn't have to take time off work and trudge to a polling center to stand in line to just be part of the minority anyway.
Michael Castanaveras
Aug 9, 2012 at 1:32pm
I think the technical challenges could be overcome. But that's not why I think online voting is a waste of time. Voter engagement needs to happen at earlier stages than just hitting a check box, whether it be paper or online. Do voters know ALL their candidates? Do they fully understand the party platforms? Do they they fully hold their candidate accountable after they've been elected?
Online voting won't make those things easier for voters. In fact, it may make the ignorant voter problem worse. If it's as easy to vote as it is to click "Like" in Facebook, then we will get the shallow results we deserve.
Antony Hodgson
Aug 9, 2012 at 1:46pm
Fair Voting BC is extremely concerned about the security vulnerabilities involved in online voting (see http://fairvotingbc.com/2011/05/04/fair-voting-bc-cautions-vancouver-on-...). Voters should not be asked to trust a system they cannot monitor. As the ACM (a professional body of computer scientists) said "Ensuring the reliability, security, and verifiability of public elections is fundamental to a stable democracy. Convenience and speed of vote counting are no substitute for accuracy of results and trust in the process by the electorate."
A much better use for online systems would be enhancing the ability for citizens to initiate and participate in refining public policy proposals. After all, democracy involves what happens between elections as much as (or even more than) during them.
Antony Hodgson
President, Fair Voting BC
Supporting fair. effective, accountable government
Doug Pederson AKA SpectateSwamp
Aug 10, 2012 at 9:00am
Duh. What's to research. People pay bills securely. For years. The powers that be don't want the common man voting. Messes with their control of the elections. The Chamber Of Commerce have been rigging political forums for years. They wouldn't want ALL the people voting now would they.
Hilary M
Aug 11, 2012 at 8:37pm
While I have mixed feelings about on-line voting, there is many who simply can't vote due to being physically disabled or too physically ill to leave home.
Wish they too had the 'right' to vote.